Faking It
by Green and Hearts
Summary: Its been nearly a year since Edward & the Cullens left in NM. Charlie and Bella's conversation takes place later, with different results. Bella will move to California and make herself over, faking happiness and life til she feels it. -NO LONGER ON HIATUS-
1. Prologue

Faking It

_Prologue_

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Disclaimer: Twilight isn't mine. S Meyer owns all.

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"He Left, Bells. He's not coming back."

"I know," I relied, almost petulantly, my voice shaky.

"He hasn't tried to contact you - he hasn't called, he hasn't written, and I'm sure he hasn't emailed. He doesn't _care _Bells."

Silent tears streamed down my face. It was the first sign of emotion in nearly a year, the physical manifestation of a forced epiphany.

_He's really gone. He doesn't care, never did. Staying in a town just to feel close to him, hoping he would return to me one day, was breaking me and molding me into a numb shell of my former self._

My father grabbed my hands from across the table, searching my usually blank eyes for understanding. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"You see now, Bell, that its for the best? You can get a new start, you'll have your mom, make new friends. You realize its over now, don't you?" he asked sympathetically.

"I finally get it dad. I really do. Its just… I'm going to miss you so much. I've only just got you back and now because I can't deal with being dumped, I'm going to lose you again!" I sobbed. He scooted his chair closer to me.

"I'm gonna miss you too kid. So much. But this is what you need." he started crying too, just a lot less obnoxiously than me.

"I'll visit whenever I can, whenever you want. You can call or write, I'll even learn to work the computer and you can email." We both chuckled at that, despite our tears.

"Okay dad. I'll move with Mom and Phil." I said, my tears slowing down.

"I'll call Reneé. We should get this done quickly. Because of school." he added quickly.

I nodded.

He looked at his watch. "Looks like you're gonna be late on your last day at Forks High."

"Dad, I'd really rather not." I said quietly.

"You don't want to say goodbye to your friends? Tell them you're moving?" he asked, shocked.

"Friends? What friends, dad?" I laughed humorlessly. "I haven't talked to any of them in months. Its best to just go, not make a spectacle."

"If you're sure…" he said reluctantly.

I thought of the last few months.

_I was snug in my shell, avoiding everyone, everyone avoiding me. They probably won't miss me, probably won't even realize I'm not there anymore. Why make things awkward by forcing an emotional goodbye?_

I nodded.

"Alright, well, I'll call your mom. Start making arrangements with the school and look into your flight."

I nodded again and walked upstairs to the bathroom to wash my tear-stained face.

I splashed my face with water and looked in the mirror. I looked horrible. My pale skin looked sickly, my cheeks thin; my dull brown eyes were lifeless, more unattractive than usual, and I had bags under my eyes. I stared at my appearance in distaste.

"Bells, you alright in there?"

_How long had I zoned out for?_

I wiped my hands on the hand towel.

"I'm fine dad," I opened the door. "I just zoned out."

"Oh," he replied. "Well, I talked to your mom. She's happy you're coming with them, despite the circumstances. She's looking into a connecting flight, so you all can fly together to California. She said she'd call with the time. I also talked to the school. They're getting the process started, I just need to go in and sign some paperwork. I'll go deal with that and head into the station for the rest of my shift. No cooking, we'll go out for dinner, lunch if you finish what you need to."

"Sounds good, dad. I'll just start packing." My voice faltered at the word.

I walked to my room. I waited until I heard the cruiser pull out of the driveway before I broke down, sobbing in my old rocking chair.

I'm not just saying goodbye to forks or to Charlie. I'm saying goodbye to my dream, my dream of forever with Edward. A small, heartbroken part of me believed he left because I was almost hurt by Jasper, not because he didn't love me. I thought that he had actually loved me all along. But he doesn't love me. I have to give up the dream, grow up. I always thought of myself as sensible, mature for my age. But when it came down to it, I was another love-stricken teenager, nursing a broken heart.

I'm going to move to California and really _try_, not just float around in my own insecure little bubble. I'd never get over him, of course, but I would try. For Charlie, for Reneé, for myself. I'm going to California and become a whole new girl. It'll be hard to change from boring Bella Swan but the old saying will be my mantra: "Fake it 'til you make it."

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**I know the idea of an alternate New Moon has been done to death but I would really appreciate it you gave my story a chance!**

**New 7/12: ITS GREAT TO BE BACK! A small part of this story has been changed. Instead of going to Jacksonville, at this time in the story The Dwyer's are moving to California and thought Bella would join them on their fresh start. Plus, I'm a Cali girl, so I thought this would be fun :) **


	2. Preparations

Faking It

Chapter 1: _Preparations_

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Disclaimer: Twilight isn't mine. S Meyer owns all.

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After I finally stopped the waterworks, I decided that was it. No more tears.

_I've made my choice, the _best _choice, and I will stick with it..._

I started at my closet, wanting to gather everything I wouldn't be able to wear in California, which was 90% of my closet, to send to the Salvation Army. I then realized that due to the suddenness of my move, I had no boxes.

I grabbed my bag, shoving my wallet phone and keys in it, and headed to the mail center. I was on the road for a few minutes when my cell phone rang, the caller ID flashed _MOM._

I fumbled with my 1st generation Motorola Razor for a bit before I was able to balance it on my shoulder. My beast _really _requires two hands and my full attention.

"Hey mom."

"**Hey honey! Your dad called, I'm so glad you're moving with us!"**

"Yeah, me too. I can't wait to see you."

"_**Me too, honey! I booked your flight. It leaves at 6 am tomorrow. I'm sure you could sleep a little on the plane. Oh, and Phil insisted on first class, so you'll have the most comfortable 5 hour flight ever!"**_

We both giggled at the idea of a comfortable _5 _hour flight.

"I'll thank him when I see him, then."

"**Oh honey, we're gonna have **_**so **_**much fun!"**

"Definitely. Well, I'm actually on the road right now, I'm heading to the mail center to pick up some boxes for my books and stuff so I have to go. Driving hazard and all that. Can you text me address to the new house so I can send my stuff over?

"**Sure! Gosh, I'm so excited!"**

"Me too. Talk to you later, mom."

"**Bye!"**

After I hung up, I tossed my phone unceremoniously into the passengers seat.

I reached the mail center two minutes later. I walked into the empty store and looked at the board to read the prices and rates, mentally calculating how many boxes and what sizes I would be needing.

After two trips to my truck, I thanked the half-asleep old woman at the counter.

It took me two hours to properly box my extensive book collection. It took another hour to package up the clothes I would be sending to the Salvation Army, and only 10 minutes to pack the remaining clothes into my duffel bag. I packed my carry-on with a sweater, fleece blanket, my iPod, and Jane Austen compilation book. Another hour passed before I was done packing up the rest of my stuff, including random trinkets, pictures, and accessories.

By the time I was finished, it was already 1:30 and I was _famished. _I decided to drop off my box of clothes at the Salvation Army and my boxes of belongings to the mail center for shipment. On the way, I called Charlie.

"Hi. Can I talk to Chief Swan, please?"

"**Of course. May I ask whose calling?"**

"Uh, yeah. This is his daughter, Bella."

"**Oh, Miss Isabella. Lovely to speak to you dear. Let me connect you. One minute please."**

"Sure, thanks."

After a minute or so, my dad's gruff voice came on the line.

"**Bells?"**

"Yeah. Um, I've finished all the packing and stuff. I'm just dropping off all the boxes and I was wondering if you could still take a break and catch lunch with me?"

"**Sure. Meet me at the diner?"**

"Yeah. I'll be there in 30 minutes."

"**Okay, sounds good. I'll be there."**

"Cool. Bye."

I dropped everything off with no hassle, paying extra for my stuff to be shipped in 1 day instead of the standard 7. _No way _was I waiting that long.

I pulled up to the Diner at 2, the cruiser was already there.

I walked in and saw Charlie already seated, drinking a Lemonade and chatting with the men at the table next to him.

"Hey, dad." I tossed my bag in the booth next to me.

"Hey, Bells. Did you talk to your mom?"

"Yeah," I replied, accepting the menu from the waitress. As we browsed the menu, I filled him in on our conversation.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. At least you won't be spending the whole day on a plane. You can catch some sleep before your get there. If I know your mother, she is going to be all over you the moment you get off the plane, wanting to go shopping or something of the sort!"

I snorted. "Ha, no kidding. Hopefully she'll give me a day to relax and get comfortable. I doubt it though!"

We ordered and chatted while we waited for the food.

Our food came fairly quickly, as there wasn't many people in. We ate in a comfortable silence. I had been so hungry-I didn't really eat my breakfast- that I ate everything on my plate _and _accepted a slice of lemon meringue pie.

Charlie paid for lunch and walked me to my car.

"I should be back around 5:30. What do you want to do for dinner? We could go down to Port Angeles if you want?"

"Nah," I replied. "I don't mind making dinner. I don't really have much else to do anyway."

"Okay. See you in a few hours, then."

"Bye dad!" I waved from my car as I pulled out.

"Bye."

Since I had done all my packing, I decided to clean up, extensively. God only knows when this house will be cleaned next.

I cleaned every square inch of the house, making sure to organize everything. The cleaning process took only 2 hours, so I started on dinner.

I decided to make a four-layer lasagna. I figured a lasagna would last longest and I already had all the ingredients, as I had just gone grocery shopping two days ago.

I grabbed my iPod and listened to music while I prepared the food. At 5:15, I put it in the oven, and set the timer for 1 hour.

With nothing else to do, I decided to browse the internet. I hadn't packed the computer - my mother had bought me a new one and I figured if Charlie and I would be e-mailing each other, he would be needing a computer. Besides, his prehistoric computer and I had a bit of a love-hate relationship anyway- it was just so darn _slow_!

About 45 minutes into my frustrating computer session, I heard the cruiser pull up. I walked down and met him at the door, where all my boxes lay.

"Hey dad. I'm making lasagna. Should be done in 20."

"Sounds good." he replied as he put all his work stuff away.

A short while later, he walked into the kitchen and sat with a sigh. I set the table while I waited for the lasagna to cool, handing him a beer and putting a glass of milk at my setting.

I served us, and sat in silence with my dad while we waited for our food to cool.

Content with the temperature, we dug in.

Dinner was a quiet affair, the silence occasionally broken by a few plan confirmations.

Since it was the start of the summer, school wasn't going to be that big of a problem. My flight was taken care of by my mom. Charlie would be sending my books after he dropped me off at the airport. My last night in Forks… I know I won't be returning.

Once we finished our dinner, I just wanted to hang out with my dad. We sat and watched the game on TV, laughed at the commercials, and just enjoyed our last night sharing his home.

He sent me off to bed at 11, since we'd both be getting up at 5 to get to Seattle in time for my flight the next day.

My last night in Forks, as I lay in the room of my babyhood, I allowed myself to think of topaz eyes and bronze, wind-blown locks. For the first time in a long time, those images didn't break my heart.

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**So this chapter is mostly filler, tying off loose ends in Forks. I'm really excited to be getting to it!**


	3. Planes

Faking It

Chapter 2: ___Planes_

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Disclaimer: Twilight isn't mine. S Meyer owns all.

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My initial plane ride wasn't too bad for me. The upside to getting up so early was most everyone on my flight was tired. I tried to sleep, too, but my nervousness about the move and excitement about my impending reunion with my mother was enough to keep me awake. After the stewardess came by with some orange juice and a package of peanuts, I pulled out my iPod and laid back to listen to some music.

Time passed quickly.

After the captain gave us leave to take off our seat belts, I stuffed my iPod and jacket in my carry on and departed the plane.

Finally off the stuffy plane, I stood and basked in the warmth, it felt so good to be back in the heat after the cold and wet of Forks. After a while, I realized my mother would have heard of my plane's arrival. I didn't want her to freak out so I rushed to the preplanned coffee shop, not at all pitying the other travelers searching for their luggage.

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"Hey Mom."

"Oh gosh, Bella!" My mother exclaimed, jumping up from her seat and nearly spilling whatever frothy green concoction she had ordered.

She grabbed me and hugged me tightly.

"Gosh, I feel like I haven't seen you in years baby!" She pulled back a little, looking me over.

"You definitely need to eat more. And you look so pale!" she frowned.

"I'm always pale, Mom." I said softly, trying to make light of it.

She started to say something, then shook her head, as if to clear it. She obviously didn't want to start our trip in a negative way. Her smile brightened once again.

She grabbed her drink and started to lead me to the car.

"Isn't this so exciting? Aren't you excited? I'm so excited!" she exclaimed.

"Breathe, Mom." I teased.

"I'm just so excited Bella! This is gonna be so much fun! I know you've never been to California, but I got to go with Phil a couple months back and we loved it! I just know you'll love it too!"

She was so excited, rambling on about all the things we absolutely _had_ to do once we got there the entire ride to the motel her and Phil were staying at. Their home had surprisingly sold before the scheduled move so they had been staying in a hotel the past two weeks.

"Phil honey, I'm back! And look at who I've got with me!" she said loudly as we walked in.

"Bella, so good to see you. You have no idea how happy your mother and I are that you decided to join us." Phil said, as he reached for a hug.

"Me too," I replied. I looked over to my mother, who was grinning widely.

"Well, we still have a few hours before our flight. I was thinking lunch then the mall, and maybe the outdoor Farmer's Market if there is time," said Renee, earning looks from both Phil and me.

"Babe, how about we just relax a little before the flight. Bella just got off a 5-hour plane ride," Phil reminded her gently.

"Oh, yeah," she frowned. "It didn't really occur to me. I guess we could save the fun stuff for Cali, huh!"

Her face was so bright and happy that I just smiled and nodded.

"Gosh, I totally forgot," I started, thumping my palm against my forehead, "Mom, can I use your phone? I told Charlie I'd call and let him know I got in safely."

**"********Hey, Dad, its Bella. I'm calling from Mom's phone. Just wanted to let you know I got to Mom alright. I guess you're busy, probably working or something but, um, yeah. Everything is good. I'll call you when we land in California. Um, bye."**

God, I can be so awkward on the phone.

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The plane ride this time around was actually pleasant, probably because of the company. My mom surprisingly isn't much of a flier so she took a sleep aid as soon as the plane took off.

I was actually pretty surprised that my hippie mom, who won't even take Advil, would resort to a sleep aid. Phil and I sat on either side of my snoring mother. Phil decided to watch the in-flight movie "Inception" and fell asleep holding her hand.

I pulled out my book and iPod, reading a while before two hours in I fell asleep as well.

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**"********Hey Dad, its me Bella."**

_**"**__****__**Bells! So glad to hear from you. I got your message from earlier but I figured with your flight plans and stuff I'd just wait for you to call back. How was your flight to California?"**_

**"********It was good. Mom was actually asleep the whole time so it was pretty peaceful."**

We both laughed.

_**"**_**____****Are you guys at the house already?"**

**"********No, we just got off the plane. We're waiting for a taxi to take us there."**

_**"**__****__**Oh. Well, you sound tired, kid. Thanks for calling me. Get as much rest as you can. Sleep in tomorrow."**_

**"********Oh I will, believe me."**

_**"**_**____****Don't forget to ring me as soon as you pick out your new phone."**

**"********Yeah, we're doing that tomorrow. Oh, we're up. I'll call you tomorrow from the new phone."**

_**"**_**____****I love you, Bells. Sleep well."**

**"********Love you too, Dad."**

After we hung up, I felt the strangest need to cry. I thought I was all cried out about it, but being so far from him after such a close, short time was tough. It wasn't so hard when I was younger, because we had never really spent a lot of time together, aside from the summer and phone calls on my birthdays and holidays.

Even though the last few months were spent in a fog, it had been so nice to finally be with my Dad, that the separation was a lot harder than I expected. I decided that no matter how crazy things got, no matter how easy it would be to fall back into the old pattern of our relationship, I'd try like hell to make sure our relationship would get back to what it was, to what I knew we'd both like it to be.

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******AN: I hope this wasn't too boring, ha! I wanted to skip it, but figured eh, what the hell. Coming up in the story, there's settling into California, moving in, meeting neighbors, shopping(!) and other fun but not corny stuff. But... shall we check in with the Cullens? ;)**


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